Gaming is a lot of fun, but if you’re the type of person who mostly plays online with friends, then having a headset that is able to handle communications properly without a lot of crackling and weird audio is important. Luckily, there are still some great Prime Day deals on headsets that you can take advantage of, and we’ve collected some of our favorites for you below. That said, if you mostly play solo games, then you may want to check out these Prime Day headphone deals instead, and while Prime Day is over, you could still potentially grab some great console deals and gaming laptop deals for an upgrade.
If you’re ready to jump in the game with no further delays, pick up these Prime Day gaming headset deals:
When choosing a headset on Prime Day, you’ll naturally want to gravitate towards one of the best headsets for PC gaming or console gaming. However, you can also get good deals on slightly older models, meaning the former bests that were in their prime just a few years ago. There are also some great budget gaming headsets that are on even steeper sales as a result of the Prime Day sales event. So, what do you need to look for?
First, get something that is compatible with your system of choice and good for it. We’re already written extensively about this elsewhere, so be sure to check out the relevant guide for the system of your choice:
While our headphones buying guide should somewhat help you determine what you need for the headphones portion of the headset, mics are a bit different. For starters, to minimize ambient sounds, you’ll likely want to stick to a uni-directional (or, possibly, a bi-directional) mic, though if the headset has built-in ambient noise reduction features, you can consider omni-directional as well. Next, check the mic arm’s adjustability. Does it fold up and down? Is it detachable? Make sure you get something you can live with.
Optionally, if you’re a highly-skilled, rhythm gamer like Jacob Roach, check out his plea for your to get headphones with low latency, if possible. They legitimately made his gameplay better in rhythm-based games, and can possibly help you out in a pinch in other games with sound-based telegraphing.
The final, and an often overlooked, aspect of a gaming headset is getting something that is very comfortable for you and your head. Sure, you’re supposed to take a break every hour or so, but will you? Get something with comfortable cushioning around the ears and even on the underside of the headband.
To compile this list of Prime Day, purchase worthy gaming headset deals, we had to first make sure that the headsets were of quality. But what goes into it beyond that?
First and foremost, we are looking at the top headsets of the day and seeing if they get notable deals. But there is no reason to not look at slightly older models during a sales season, as they are more likely to be heavily discounted, looking for some love while inventories still exist. To take an example from the world of headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM5 are topping lists of the best headphones right now (despite some age on them) but if a fantastic deal existed on the Sony WH-1000XM4 this would be the time to consider going for them.
We’re also looking at a wide variety of headset types. Not everyone is a pro gamer. Some want something cute. Some want something RGB’d to the gills. And others want cheaper headsets for their kids. Throughout the deals presented today, if something presents itself in a good niche at a good price, we want to include that.
Finally, note that not everything is limited to Amazon during this time. While Prime Day is an official “holiday” of Amazon’s, that doesn’t stop other retailers from having sales at the same time. We’re looking for the best deals, not just the Amazon deal.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.